Dérives

Since 1975, Dérives has produced the works of committed filmmakers with a personal and original view of the world. The filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne founded the Dérives Collective in 1975, first to produce and direct video interviews recounting working-class history in the Liège area. Then, in 1977, with the help of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Dérives became the first production workshop to develop, produce and distribute original documentaries in Wallonia. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne subsequently produced their own documentaries, notably le bateau de Léon M. descendit la Meuse pour la première fois (1979), Pour que la guerre s’achève, les murs devaient s’écrouler (1980) or R… ne répond plus (1981). By maintaining an active exchange with directors throughout the process, by providing them with a full range of equipment and by finding funding for their projects, the workshop offers filmmakers a space for reflection and experimentation that allows them to acquire confidence and self-assurance in their artistic approach. This commitment to filmmakers is a way of defending a different form of cinema, as indicated in this statement by the founders of Dérives: “At a time when the standardization of documentary films is increasingly common, we favour works that examine our world, both close and distant, with attention and insistence.” Beyond the cinema per se, this is also a desire to share a social and humanist conviction that, ultimately, is present in all our productions.